Joey Votto returned to the Great American Ballpark on June 19. He went 2-3 with a homerun, walk, and a 2 run RBI single. He has been out for the beginning of the season after he had shoulder surgery to his left biceps and rotator cuff last August. His 3 RBI game helped the Cincinnati Reds in their 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies, extending their win streak to 9 games and putting them on top of the Central division. 

Votto has been one of the most popular Reds since his debut in 2007. He won the National League MVP in 2010, a Gold Glove in 2011, and is a 6 time All-Star. He is the only remaining player from the last time the Reds won the Central division in 2012 and it is poetic that on the day of his return, the Reds are back in first place. And his return overall, may be what keeps them there. 

Right now, the Reds are young and hungry for a win. They play an aggressive form of baseball, always stretching their groundouts into singles, singles into doubles, and doubles into triples. Once they're on the bases, they are quick and ready to steal. Sometimes this is just what needs to be done, due to their poor starting pitching, but it could also just be the Reds' baserunning. There’s no doubt about it, the aggressiveness and scrappiness of this team makes it interesting to watch and if you want to be “America’s Team” as the Reds decided to be, you want people to watch.

But there is a lack of veteran leadership on the team. The current veteran player on the Reds is Jonathan India, who has only been in the big leagues since his Rookie of the Year season in 2021. And with this young Reds team, they could use that leadership, to teach them maybe the time when not to be as aggressive on the basepath or when to be. Votto has a career .297 batting average and .412 on-base percentage. He may not have the same kind of base-stealing numbers as the rest of the Reds team, only 80 throughout his 16-year career, but with the kind of great playing Votto has been able to produce and maintain, he certainly has a lot of wisdom and skill to give not only to the players but the team overall. 

Votto adds to the story of America’s Team that the 2023 Reds are trying to tell. Joey Votto is a 39-year-old player, barely having played in the playoffs, a veteran on a young team, and has played with the same team for 16 years. He is a beloved player across the league and has been a generational player that people grew up watching. Votto returning to the Reds at this moment makes it not only exciting for the Reds fanbase, but for the baseball fans as a whole to see what kind of veteran magic Votto can bring, helping not only their team morale but maybe also their winning percentage.